Title

Mental Mayhem

Problem Scenario

I need to memorize lines for a play, but I just cant get it. How can I memorize them easier?

Broad Question

Does Time Of Day Affect Memory?

Specific Question

Does the time of day affect how much a person can remember in a short period of time?

Hypothesis

The later in the day, the easier it will to remember because the subject will be more awake than when they first wake up.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable: Time of Day

Dependent Variable: How much a person can remember

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Period of time
People tested
Things to memorize

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

Take people and put them in a room. Give each of them a list of words for them to study for 1 minute. After one minute, gather the papers and give everyone a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Tell them to write down as many words as they can remember. Once everyone is done, gather the papers and let them leave. Repeat for other two times of day with different lists of words.

Potential Problems And Solutions

Problems:
1.People looking at other people's papers.
2.Sleeping time varies.
3.Talking.
Solutions:
1.Space them apart and facing away from each other.
2.Request the people to be rested.
3.Sush anyone who tries to speak.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

None

Experimental Design

Controlled, manipulated experiment

What is your experimental unit?

One Person

Number Of Trials:

Three

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

13

Number of Observations:

39

When data will be collected

Feb. 2 - Feb. 24

Where will data be collected?:

At Home

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Paper	40	Home	/
Pencils	20	Home	/
Ink	One Cartridge	Home	/
Printer	1	Home	/

Detailed Procedure
Take people and put them in a room. Give each of them a list of words for them to study for 1 minute. After one minute, gather the papers and give everyone a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Tell them to write down as many words as they can remember. Once everyone is done, gather the papers and let them leave. Repeat for other two times of day with different lists of words.

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

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Data Table

Data Analysis

All Raw Data

time of day, number correct, age:
10am, 5, 46. 3pm, 6, 46. 7pm, 7, 46. 10am, 9, 28. 3pm, 12, 28. 7pm, 11, 28. 10am, 6, 59. 3pm, 7, 59. 7pm, 7, 59. 10am, 6, 53. 3pm, 8, 53. 7pm, 3, 53. 10am, 5, 14. 3pm, 8 14. 7pm, 9, 14. 10am, 12, 17. 3pm 8 17. 7pm, 7, 17. 10am, 11, 43. 3pm, 6, 43. 7pm, 14, 43. 10am, 9, 16. 3pm, 13, 16. 7pm, 14, 16. 10am, 9, 41. 3pm, 9, 41. 7pm, 12, 41. 10am, 4, 15. 3pm, 6, 15. 7pm, 7, 15. 10am, 5, 17. 3pm, 5, 17. 7pm, 6, 17. 10am, 4, 14. 3pm, 7, 14. 7pm, 8, 14. 10am, 7, 24. 3pm, 5, 24. 7pm, 10, 24.

Graphs

Photos

Results

The hypothesis was correct. As the time of day grew, the number of words remembered increased on average. At 10 am the average amount of words remembered was 7. At 3 pm the average amount of words remembered was 7.5. At 7 pm the average amount of words remembered was 9.

Conclusion

The hypothesis was the later in the day, the easier it will to remember because the subject will be more awake than when they first wake up, which was correct. The data when first looked at is confusing and looks like there is no time of day better than any other, but when you look at the average, the 10 am was 7, the 3 pm was 7.5, and the 7 pm was 9, for the number of words remembered.

Discussion

As the time of day grew, the number of words remembered increased on average. At 10 am the average amount of words remembered was 7, at 3 pm the average amount of words remembered was 7, at 7 pm the average amount of words remembered was 9. There are a few outlying exceptions for the results, mostly caused by people talking, not enough sleep, and what they were doing right before. Next time there should be guidelines on how much sleep they should get and they should be tested alone, one at a time, to avoid talking. These things will improve the accuracey of thre results.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

Middle school students, and high school students have to get up early for school, often 6:20, sometimes as early as 5:20 to be able to catch the bus on time.It affects or ability to learn and how much information we take in. This is a big problem because we cant change the time school starts because of the after school activities and sports. Also, there are lots of important things to memorize; oral essays, scripts, power points, ect., and you want to be able to memorize them easily. If the time of day affects this, then that will help us know when to fit memorizing into our schedule.

Background Research

There are many factor that can affect your memory, how much sleep you get, who your around, what you ate for breakfast/lunch/dinner, your age and even more. It's hard to really say if its the time of day, because some people are different than others; morning people, afternoon "larks", and "night owls."
People process two types of memory – Declarative and Semantic – differently throughout the day. In the morning, people tend to be better at Declarative Memory tasks – which is our ability to recall exact details, like names, places, dates and facts, and in the afternoon, our brain is better at Semantic Memory tasks – our ability to integrate new information with what we already know and make it meaningful. In other words, the morning is best for researching information. And the afternoon is better for synthesizing and applying it. My test was calculating both, they had to make the new words they learned meaningful in their life and then they have to recal the exact words.

References

"Does the Time of Day Affect Our Ability to Learn? | The Brainscape Blog: Learn How to Learn Faster." The Brainscape Blog Learn How to Learn Faster. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
"Memory Improvement – Why Is Your Memory Better in the Morning?" Improve Memory Memory Improvement Tips Secrets RocketMemory. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
"Time of Day Effects in Immediate and Delayed Memory." Mempowered. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Abstract

Does the time of day affect how much a person can remember in a short period of time? It was hypothesized that the later in the day, the easier it would be to remember because the subject would be more awake than when they first woke up. The time of day was the independent variable, and the dependent variable was how much a person can remember. The general plan was to take people and put them in a room. Give each of them a list of words for them to study for 1 minute. After one minute, gather the papers and give everyone a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Tell them to write down as many words as they can remember. Once everyone is done, gather the papers and let them leave. Repeat for other two times of day with different lists of words. As the time of day grew, the number of words remembered increased on average. At 10 am the average amount of words remembered was 7, at 3 pm the average amount of words remembered was 7, at 7 pm the average amount of words remembered was 9. There were a few problems that occurred that affected the data. These things were: people talking, not enough sleep, and what they were doing right before.